


To Speak a Name

by Kien Rugastelo (cein)



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26297683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cein/pseuds/Kien%20Rugastelo
Summary: Kurogane had been taught from a young age to keep his name hidden, as well as the names of his comrades, in the interests of safety. After a time, though, he decides there are some names he would like to use properly.Contains minor spoilers through the end of TRC.
Relationships: Fay D. Fluorite/Kurogane
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	To Speak a Name

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, I'm still on the name shtick.
> 
> Set after the event of TRC.

Kurogane was well-versed in the magic of names.

Many knew the Suwa clan as warriors, and just as many knew them as priests. Between the two, their line knew well and good the dangers of a name.  _ Kurogane _ was a title, passed down from generation to generation much as Ginryuu had been, much like the mantle of head priest and living embodiment of Takeminakata had been. With a name, one could be bound and destroyed. With a name, one could be made utterly defenseless. With a name, one could be stripped down to their most vulnerable of innards and laid utterly bare.

He’d been taught from a young age to keep his name hidden, as well as the names of his comrades, many of which were ignorant of the implicit dangers of names. So he was instructed to stick to titles, and family names if absolutely necessary, for his safety as well as that of everyone around him. Exposing an ally would only open himself up as well. Could he know that the names his allies had introduced themselves with were false, and ask such without revealing his own knowledge of their dangers? Could he be certain he would know if someone on his side had been compromised? Could he be sure that he would recognize someone under the control of another before it was too late?

He couldn’t; no one could.

And so, unless otherwise ordered, the Princess was the Princess. A Commander, a Commander. A Soldier, a soldier. Family names when necessary. “Hey you” when it could be managed. The security of those around him was the security of his self, and he had been drilled to compromise nothing for everyone’s safety.

The Witch was the Witch, the kids the kids, the bun the bun, and the mage..

The mage was a moron, a wizard, a liar. He was a threat that was not a threat, a comrade that was not a comrade. He was a type of which the closest Kurogane had experienced before had been in seedy bars that people of character had no business patronizing, or so he had been told.

(He didn’t think such places were so terrible, though a great many people there were so annoying as to trigger his temper, so he avoided them on principle.)

They stayed that way through the worlds. It was safer that way. If they were using their real names, Kurogane would not expose them, and they did not have his real name to expose him with. It was just one more measure of safety he could provide — one more assurance their party would complete the journey whole.

Even after, when he knew none of the names he’d been originally given had been their Names — well, it was a difficult habit to break. He was closer to 30 now than 20, over two decades of training and practice were difficult to separate from.

Still.

This world they had stopped in was a peaceful one. Some young girls down the lane had taken to Mokona, and Syaoran had taken to the library further into town. Kurogane and Fai had simply taken to the idea of rest — a well-deserved break from the chaos that had been the previous three they had passed through. Fate had seemed to favor them for now, and they’d been settled for a week, nearly domestic as they recuperated, waiting for Mokona’s earring to shine and signal their departure.

Now, though —  _ now _ Fai was washing dishes made dirty by the breakfast Syaoran had put together, hair braided loosely and sweater sleeves pushed up to his elbows. In a few hours, Kurogane would make lunch, and Syaoran would clean, then Fai would cook, and Kurogane would do the washing. But now, the sun slanted through the windows, water steaming up slightly in the cool air, diffusing the light just enough to make Kurogane wonder where he sat at the table if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if Fai’s sweater really did look so soft.

He only intended to pinch at the fabric — to get a feel of it between his real fingers — but his hands, having their own mind, swept down as Kurogane creeped up behind Fai, gliding from shoulder to wrist until he held Fai in a loose embrace.

Fai chuckled good-naturedly, only barely pausing in his work to glance to his shoulder where Kurogane’s chin settled. “Yes, papa?”

“So soft,” Kurogane wondered.

Fai’s laugh was brighter than the snow outside. “I don’t know if I’d call the dishwater soft,” he remarked, reaching up to deposit some suds on Kurogane’s nose.

He allowed it, but reached up with a soapy hand of his own to brush it away the next moment, glancing up to see some of Fai’s hair had escaped the plait. That wouldn’t do, and so Kurogane brushed it back, if only to be able to see that face that much more clearly, and his mouth worked unbidden: “Fai..”

It wasn’t so much that he had said Fai’s name aloud but the way Fai paused that made the next words die in Kurogane’s throat. Fai wiped his hand on his jeans before feeling out Kurogane’s forehead in concern. Kurogane’s lips twitched down, but he permitted the touch all the same. Fai’s brow furrowed. “No fever,” he said a little absently. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Of course I am,” he replied, just a little haughtily. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just,” Fai started, haltingly, “You’ve never said my name before.”

And Kurogane knew he could explain it. He could sit there and rehash his upbringing and training. He could dole out the entire lesson on the subject, and explain that since Fai’s Name wasn’t actually Fai that it was safe to use, and it was the first time he’d said someone’s name willingly for as long as he could remember.

Instead, he went for the real truth that laid at the heart of it all: “I’ve decided that I want to.”

Fai’s easy smile just then was worth it. “Okay,” he said, turning back to the task at hand, and Kurogane took up a dry towel wordlessly to help make the chore go just a little faster.

If his voice just then was a little wet, neither of them were going to go telling.

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> What I've said above about the Suwas is actually based in historical fact, found after a long, meandering Wiki Walk. You can see all my notes on that [here](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/628109895160479744/deforrest-bergan-just-finished-a-wiki-dive-into). The research is for a much longer fic I'm a little stuck on, but it's useful all the same.
> 
> Also, you can check the "#My Notes" tag on that blog for notes on pretty much every fic I've published here. Consider those the annotations.


End file.
